Ken Miller's comments after the July 20 practice

Can you give us a status update on Chris Getzlaf? He had some kind of wrap on his calf. “He was kicked or something in the game. The day after, his calf was really swollen. It is much better. I think in another day or so, he will be good to go. But it was still tender and swollen today.’’How much do you want him? Calgary’s always that team that he seems to explode against, too. “He’s exploded against them. Plus, he’s been really consistent so far this season. He’s an important part of our offence so it’s important that we have him back.’’What did you think of Louie Sakoda on the first day of practice, coming back from a tough game? “He practised very well. He punted the ball consistently well. He had a good day of practice.’’Have you talked to him or what have you said to Louie? “Funny you ask (chuckles). This morning, I had the kickers and long-snappers and even a returner in my office, and we went through a mental approach to playing the game. It was about a 30-minute presentation that I made, that I have used before with baseball players in the past, and used last year with quarterbacks. It’s something just about a mental approach to the game that we worked on today in my office.’’

Did you use any adjectives in this one as well? “It was really a calm, instructive kind of a meeting.’’

Do you expect that Sakoda will be on the 42-man roster on Saturday? “Today, I would.’’Kicking is so much about technique. Do you have any issues with his confidence right now? “Technique is not the question. It’s just a matter of he’s been into his own head quite a bit as far as thinking about things outside of his control, and not just punting the football. If we can get him to focus on the skill that he’s responsible for, he’ll do well.’’Jim Daley said he’s looking for more north-south situations when Dominique Dorsey is returning kicks. Is that the message that was told to him? “It’s really much the same — that he play with confidence. He needs to anticipate and read and know where the ball is going to fly to when he’s fielding punts. He didn’t do a very good job of that. He’s much better at that than he demonstrated in that game. We just need to have him do what he does. Like Jim said, north is the direction we want him to go, and if he needs to make a break after that, then to make the break after that.’’How important is it to have your punter at his optimal performance? “I don’t know about optimal performance, but we need consistency, just like every other position. One of the main things we emphasize is field position, so the kicking game is just so important in that, whether it’s kickoffs or punts. They’re just so important in that aspect of the game.’’

How confident are you that Louie Sakoda can recover and get back focused into what he needs to do? “When he came here last year, he was in a situation that was strange for him, and he came in and showed a lot of mental toughness. He came in and didn’t know about the CFL, but he punted and kicked off and did a very nice job. When he came in this year, he was in a situation where his kicking leg had been injured, so he didn’t practise well. I think the mental issues that he has gone through have been related to that injury. Now I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to help him turn the corner and be consistent and get better.’’

Calgary is coming off a four-pick performance. Do you look at that as a team that’s right for the picking or do you expect that those mistakes have been rectified? “They have a tremendous coaching staff in Calgary, so they’ll be well-coached. They’ll be well-prepared, and they’re a talented team as well. They’ll be prepared for us. We’re going to have to play well.’’

Do you expect to see Ken-Yon Rambo this week? “Absolutely, I do.’’What are some of the adjustments you have to make in the defensive backfield so you don’t have another receiver do what Fred Stamps did in Week 3? “The routes that he caught a lot were square-ins or curls. It’s tough to cover those from on top or behind. You have to have some underneath support in order to cover those well. It’s as much scheme as it is personnel or anything else. We’ll work on that a little bit harder and adjust our coverages a little bit.’’

Since you came in in 2007 as the offensive co-ordinator, how has the attitude of this team changed? It seems that no matter how much they’re down in a game, there’s always an attitude or a confidence that they’re going to win the game. They always seem to pull it out. They didn’t do that five years ago. What has changed with this team? “I don’t know exactly, because I don’t know (what happened) before I came. When I was here, we started this concept of consistency, playing one play at a time, not being concerned with things outside our control. Primarily, I worked with that on the offence at that particular time, but in the last couple of years and so far this season I’ve been able to (convey) that message to the entire team. I think that’s an important basic premise that we operate from. It provides a secure environment, a consistent environment, for the players in the locker room. It’s something they can believe in and work with.’’When you see what Marcus Thigpen has been doing in Hamilton, are there any regrets or misgivings or what have you? “I just wish him well, because we made a decision to go the way we went. We didn’t have additional room on our roster when he went. We actually talked with him after he left and talked with him about a practice-roster position and really advised him to take their position because they had an active-roster (spot) as opposed to a practice-roster position. Brendan (Taman) is the one who was instrumental in that conversation with him, because he was willing to come back for the practice roster, even though they had a roster position available. We just wish him well. You may have noticed in this last game that he didn’t have quite the breakout performance that he has had in the previous two, so I think all of those things will even out a little bit.’’So many of the questions we’ve asked you today have been about what’s wrong with special teams or what’s wrong with pass defence. You’re 3-and-0. Is perhaps a little too much being made of the perceived deficiencies in light of the team’s overall performance? “That’s a tough question for me to answer. We have won because we have been gritty and determined and we’ve played until the last play of the game. It isn’t because we’ve been glowingly efficient in any part of the game. As I said last week, there’s plenty of room for improvement in every aspect of our game.’’

Is Louie Sakoda all the way healthy with his injury? “Yes, he is.’’

Is Dominique Dorsey 100 per cent, being that he had hamstring and groin injuries? Is his health any sort of a concern? “I don’t think so, and I think he’s fixed emotionally, too.’’

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